Smoke-free Corner by Greg Johnson - Pregnant Women

Article |
August 1, 2013 - 12:32pm

Indiana has one of the highest smoking rates in the country. In fact, the number of Hoosier mothers who have reported smoking during pregnancy is much higher than the national average of 10 percent. In 2010, 17.1 of women in Indiana smoked during pregnancy.

More alarming statistics! Rates of smoking during pregnancy in most Indiana counties exceed state and national averages. Hoosier counties range from 3.9 percent to 35.9 percent, but 89 of 92 counties have rates higher than the national average. In fact, 69 of Indiana’s 92 counties have rates higher than Indiana’s own average!

2010 Birth Certificate Data: LaGrange, Noble and Steuben Counties:

The following percentage of women from LaGrange, DeKalb, Noble, Steuben Counties who smoked during pregnancy:

· LaGrange 7.5 percent

· DeKalb 22.8 percent

· Noble 24.0 percent

· Steuben 24.0 percent

2007 Births to Women with Medicaid Coverage who smoked during pregnancy:

· LaGrange 45 percent

· DeKalb 39 percent

· Noble 30 percent

· Steuben 35 percent

Babies born with smoking-affected births to mothers from these counties who smoked during pregnancy:

· LaGrange 59

· Noble 143

· Steuben 85

· DeKalb 122

This totals 409 babies born to moms who smoked.

Why it matters that you help pregnant moms:

· Encourage all pregnant women to say ‘no” to smokers. A woman who lives in a home with a smoker puts her baby at risk, so for the benefit of the baby, it’s best for her family not to smoke around her. It’s an easy way to increase the chance of a healthy birth. (ACOG, Nov 2010.)

· Pregnancy is a big motivator for many women to quit smoking. Almost 50 percent of women quit smoking right before or during pregnancy.

· Reducing smoking rates in the U.S. by one percentage point prevents 1,300 low birth-weight babies, saving $21 million in direct medical costs each year. Over seven years, that’s 57,200 babies and $572 million. (Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, July 1997.)

· Washington, D.C. spends more than $5.7 million to care for babies born of smokers (or exposed to secondhand smoke during pregnancy, March 2002.)

· Smoking rates don’t vary between ethnic groups in Indiana. But, 38 percent of women who did not complete high school do smoke. Rates decline as education levels increase. Women of all ethnicities, ages 25-34, are the highest proportion of smokers – prime child-bearing years.

Related costs of smoking to moms-to-be and their babies:

· A pack of cigarettes costs over $5. A habit of two packs per day could pay for a pack of diapers – every day. One pack equals the cost of one to two items of baby clothes from a gently-used clothing store. One month of a daily pack habit easily competes with buying a car seat, bottles and other necessities.

· The CDC estimated that for every $5 pack, it costs another $7.18 in healthcare. So, every $5 a mom-to-be spends on a pack eventually costs her another $7.18 in doctor visits, treatments, conditions, and medicines (2009).

Money tight right now? Plenty of financial costs are associated with smoking while pregnant, aside from the direct cost of buying a pack:

· Neonatal care costs for a low birth weight baby of $25-$35,000. Costs have skyrocketed since 1996 when this was reported.

· Direct medical costs of a complicated birth are 66 percent higher for smokers – a sign that complications are much more severe for babies of smokers and intensive care more frequently required than for babies of non-smokers (CDC, 1997).

Having difficulty getting pregnant or wanting to have more children?

· Twice as likely to have delayed conception and 30 percent more likely to be infertile - a woman who smokes and is trying to get pregnant vs. her non-smoking friends (Am. Congress of Obstetricians & Gynecologists, Nov 2010).

· The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the sooner a woman quits, the greater her chance of a healthy delivery and development. The very first “quit” day, her baby is already getting more oxygen than the day before. The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) notes that a woman who quits smoking before 15 weeks gestation increases the potential for a healthy birth/mom, and positive child development.

Children of moms who smoked even ½ pack a day during pregnancy have an increased risk of brain damage and decreased childhood intellectual function.

Children of moms who smoke one pack a day during pregnancy have an 85 percent increased risk of being born with mental retardation. Children born of smokers are twice as likely to have behavioral problems, including Attention Deficit Disorder.

Exposure to other smokers during pregnancy increases the chance that the baby will develop frequent ear infections, pneumonia, mental retardation, slower growth, hyperactivity, and learning disabilities. They frequently have lower scores on cognitive development tests at age 2 compared to kids from smoke-free homes during pregnancy.

Source: Preventing Smokefree Pregnancies in Indiana (PSPI)

To learn more about Indiana State Department of Health Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Commission efforts in your area, visit www.isdh.in.gov/tcp.